Wizards of the Coast's Archetype Entertainment to Publish Exodus TTRPG Based on Upcoming Exodus Video Game

In something of a surprise, a video game division of Wizards of the Coast has announced plans to publish EXODUS Traveler’s Handbook, a new tabletop RPG based on their upcoming video game. Archetype Entertainment, a division of Wizards of the Coast, announced plans to publish the new rulebook, with details about the upcoming release found on Archetype's website. The book is being made available to followers of the upcoming game first, starting on December 11th. Details on how to get a copy of the limited quantity book can be found here.

EXODUS Traveler’s Handbook was designed by James Ohlen, who created Exodus and was previously designing tabletop RPG books via his Arcanum Worlds imprint prior to joining Wizards and Archetype Entertainment. Arcanum Worlds had published a 5E third party supplement called Odyssey of the Dragonlords and several D&D 5E supplements on the DMs Guild.

Exodus is a new sci-fi video game that deals with human space colonists fighting against the antagonistic descendants of humanity known as Celestials. The game involves time dilation in space travel, which is why there are both humans and their evolved futuristic descendants in the same game.

Currently, it is unclear whether the TTRPG version of Exodus will use some version of Dungeons & Dragons 5E or if it will be a bespoke new game system. EN World has reached out to Wizards for clarification.

A description of the new RPG can be found below:

• Celebrate with Us – This special FOUNDERS TTRPG edition was created by James Ohlen, the creative visionary behind the highly anticipated EXODUS video game.

• Explore the vast world of EXODUS – Face the challenges of this dark and dangerous futuristic world, set in the expanded universe of the EXODUS video game.

• Become the Traveler – Your destiny is to lead the Travelers, in the hunt to steal alien weapons and technology from the most powerful enemy in this universe – the Celestials.

• Confront Time Dilation – Choices you make create consequences changing the fate of those you love most – and reshaping the future of your entire civilization for generations.

 

[Parmandur]

I'm not sure we are that far out, I think it's coming next year.

They haven't announced anything, but they sure do seem to be escalating hype rapidly.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

They haven't announced anything, but they sure do seem to be escalating hype rapidly.

I think an announcement is coming December 10ish.

 

[Parmandur]

I think an announcement is coming December 10ish.

I would expect theybwill have something big to show on 12/12, in the Game Awards ceremony. And maybe something at PAX Unplugged, which is the 6th-8th.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I'm not sure we are that far out, I think it's coming next year.

It takes at least 5 years to make a game of this scale (and it not suck). Did they start work 2020?

 

[GreyLord]

It takes at least 5 years to make a game of this scale (and it not suck). Did they start work 2020?

That's a good question.

I'd say with a guess that the really heavy work began...oh...about a year ago (I'd be guessing a year and few months ago. It seems that Bioware decided it had enough people and those that it shook off for spare weight really needed jobs...).

I'd say it depends on how rushed they are and how much time. It would vary. I'd put a 2026 to 2027 at the earliest timeline on it currently.

However, a better answer they may give could be...it'll be done when it will be done. Probably would be the best answer.

If they say 2025 as a hard answer...It could be interesting. I'd say a LOT of CRUNCH would be probably in order to make that date...and not sure how it will turn out if that were the case.

And, obviously, all my thoughts could be wrong as well.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I'd say with a guess that the really heavy work began...oh...about a year ago

More than that I suspect. It would take around 2 years from commissioning the novel until it appeared in print, and we can assume the setting bible - which seems to be far more detailed than for most games - was written by then.

If they did only start a little over a year ago, then if it comes out in 2025 it will be compete garbage.

Personally, I suspect (and I hope, since I don’t want it to suck) this won’t come out before 2026.

 

[Parmandur]

It takes at least 5 years to make a game of this scale (and it not suck). Did they start work 2020?

2019, I believe.

 

[Parmandur]

That's a good question.

I'd say with a guess that the really heavy work began...oh...about a year ago (I'd be guessing a year and few months ago. It seems that Bioware decided it had enough people and those that it shook off for spare weight really needed jobs...).

I'd say it depends on how rushed they are and how much time. It would vary. I'd put a 2026 to 2027 at the earliest timeline on it currently.

However, a better answer they may give could be...it'll be done when it will be done. Probably would be the best answer.

If they say 2025 as a hard answer...It could be interesting. I'd say a LOT of CRUNCH would be probably in order to make that date...and not sure how it will turn out if that were the case.

And, obviously, all my thoughts could be wrong as well.

Per Archetype's wiki page, "The Austin, Texas-based studio was created by Wizards in April 2019 to develop new intellectual property outside of Wizards' existing Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering franchises." And they basicly hit the ground running starting on Exodus, so it has been in development for five and a half years.

Archetype Entertainment - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Ruin Explorer]

More than that I suspect. It would take around 2 years from commissioning the novel until it appeared in print, and we can assume the setting bible - which seems to be far more detailed than for most games - was written by then.

I think it's a little unclear when actual production started. Certainly the setting seems have been fully-formed and the type of game locked down by the end of last year, potentially earlier.

I notice that it's not actually being developed solely by WotC studios, too. Archetype Entertainment are the "main" studio and in control of the game, but Keywords Studios, an Ireland-based game development services provider which now has two of its sub-studios, Climax Studios and Certain Affinity working on Exodus (Certain Affinity started working on Exodus before being purchased by Keywords, I see).

That's not highly unusual or anything - there's a reason game development services providers exist - many AAA game studios have some work, sometimes a lot of work, from other studios like this (Certain Affinity have worked on a number of big games where they weren't the main dev studio).

Certain Affinity announced they came onboard in January 2024, and Keywords/Climax's involvement wasn't announced, but I'd be surprised if it was before that. I mention this because bringing in support studios this way tends to suggest a ramping up of development.

If we combine all this information, I think it's fair to say that we don't know exactly when they went from pre-production to production, but they certainly ramped things up around Dec 2023/Jan 2024, which is also when they did the big reveal, the official name, and started dropping real setting details to the public.

The trailer released at that date does contain limited gameplay-style footage but that doesn't mean full production was necessarily going on. I'd say any date between 12 and 24 months ago for full production starting is plausible based on current information.

Late 2026/Early 2027 seems like the earliest possible date, frankly (and that's assuming production started like 24 months ago). More likely mid to late 2027 or 2028, based on the normal dev cycles for this kind of game. That would actually be exceptionally fast, which is rare for new studios to manage (but not unheard of).

I'm not sure we are that far out, I think it's coming next year.

2025? It definitely is not. Even if it started full production 24 months ago there's no chance an AAA game on this scale could be completed in 3 years.

A bunch of increasingly AI-driven desperate clickbait sites will give you 2025 often with the nonsensical caveat that it might "slip" to 2026 (you can't "slip" if you've never even hinted at a release date!), but they're just trying to get clicks with false "information". They have absolutely no idea. Nothing personal, but @Henadic Theologian, I notice a lot of "information" in a lot of posts you have made about media subjects (games, movies, shows) seems to have been informed by very shallow clickbait sites. I feel like it's reasonable to suggest it might be helpful to you and others to be more discerning in the sites you get info from.

There's been very little gameplay footage (really only some very prototype-y looking stuff at the end of the trailer), and we're still seeing changes like one of the companion characters vanishing since the Dec. 2023 release trailer and info, and being replaced by a different one, which tend not to happen when a game has things really locked down.

(I'd be guessing a year and few months ago. It seems that Bioware decided it had enough people and those that it shook off for spare weight really needed jobs...).

I'm a bit confused - what's BioWare got to do with this? There's no evidence that anyone part of the downsizing in September 2023 went to Archetype (or Climax, or Certain Affinity) as far as I'm aware or can find - have you seen some? On the contrary, all I can find is that the big names they dropped then are either still very sadly unemployed or working on other games (Jay Watamaniuk is working on Ghost of Yotei, for example).

I'm not saying you're wrong to be clear - I just couldn't find anything that supports the idea people moved from BioWare to Archetype at that time or since.

 

[Parmandur]

I'd be guessing a year and few months ago. It seems that Bioware decided it had enough people and those that it shook off for spare weight really needed jobs...

I thinknyou might be thinking of the other Austin-based video game studios founded by a BioWare veteran that WotC started, in 2022:

"Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS), today announced that Christian Dailey has joined the company as Vice President and Head of Studio for the new Austin-based, Skeleton Key."

"Christian joins Wizards of the Coast from BioWare, where he most recently served as Executive Producer for the Dragon Age franchise. Prior to joining BioWare, Dailey spent over 20 years in the video game industry including his leadership of supporting AAA development projects at Electronic Arts and Blizzard Entertainment."

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